Philippines say 'Yes' to reopening US base at Subic Bay

Philippines say 'Yes' to reopening US base at Subic Bay

The US Will Open Massive Philippine Bases Not Occupied Since
The Cold War

Robert Johnson
|Jun. 8,
2012, 9:58 PM

With the U.S. moving the
majority of its naval fleet
to the Pacific, commanders are eagerly looking for invitations to park
the planes and ships that will be pouring into the region.

Travis Tritten at Stars and Stripes
reports that the Pentagon has apparently been fanning the old flame of
friendship with the Philippines and will be re-opening two bases it left
in 1991 — Subic Bay and Clark Air Base.

The U.S. had a falling out with the island nation in the early
nineties and pulled out of the bases, which were then built-up by a
series of private developers and builders. How useful what's left is a
matter of debate, but the locations used to be major centers of
operation for American forces in the Pacific.

Clark Air Base and its military reservation are 244 square
miles of land that played a vital role for the U.S. during the Vietnam
war and is capable of hosting the largest of America's military
aircraft.

Subic Bay played an even greater role in U.S. operations and
until the withdrawal in 1991 it was the largest American overseas
military base in the world. The waters at Subic Bay should have no
problem hosting U.S. submarines and the largest of naval
ships.

The Philippines has been embroiled in a major dispute with
China in the nearby Spratley Islands and Beijing is unlikely to be happy
with this news.

I agree that this is a good thing, not only for the Americans but also for the Philippines. Sure, there were problems caused by the bases, but the bases provided a local economic benefit to the areas they were located in.

I still believe that America will eventually operate military bases in Vietnam again.